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Friday, 10 March 2017

GERMANY: Dusseldorf Airport Evacuated After World War 2 Bomb Is Discovered

On Wednesday, builders working in close proximity to Germany's Dusseldorf Airport discovered an unexploded bomb near the facility, forcing the airport and residents in the surrounding neighborhoods to evacuate.

Construction crews found the 250-kilogram WWII dud during a project in the northern district of Dusseldorf, prompting authorities to evacuate an area of one kilometer around the discovery.

The mandatory evacuation caused 8,000 people to leave their homes Thursday morning and closed several major roads into and out of the German city.

In addition, a hotel housing about 250 guests was also evacuated.

The airport reopened a short time later, but the facility was only accessible via detours around the impacted area.

Officials from Dusseldorf Airport have asked passengers to arrive at least two hours early to deal with the traffic congestion.

While police are expected to begin diffusion of the device Thursday, bomb squads have not yet determined if they will explode it on-site or take it away.

Even 70 years after the end of WWII, unexploded projectiles are still discovered buried in German soil more often than you'd think:

Officials claim there are an estimated 3,000 bombs underground in Berlin alone.